Vacuum shaver



June 17,1941. Y J. 1. HILL 2,245,917

VACUUM S HAVER Filed Jan. 25, 1938 SI1 werden ZI'OHN IHILL, v 1 um @5434QF-QM ?atented June 17, iai

VAEUUM SHAVIER .Heim i. Hill, lHouston, Tex.

Application `iaiuuary 25, 1938, Serial No. 185,785

i Claims.

The invention relates to a vacuum shaver whereby suction is applied tothe surface being shaved with a view of cleaning the surface, raisingAthe hair, and removing the cuttings.

With dry or mechanical shavers it is desirable to have a clean surfaceand to placethe hair in a substantially upright position so that it maypass into the shaving device and at the same time remove the cuttingsfrom the surface being shaved, so that such cuttings will not interferewith the entrance of the hair.

The primary' object of the invention is to provide a small portabledevice which will enable the user to first condition the s n, by drycleansing the surface and ruiliing th hair, prior to using the device asa shaver.

Another object is to provide a device which will permit the user todispense with the customary preparations of the surface to be shaved.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which willperform a shaving operation while suction is being applied thereto.

Another object of the invention is to Aprovide a device wherein either alcombination suction and shaving action maybe obtained or whereby theshaving action may be suspended while the suction is continued.

(Ci. 3ft- 43) nection between the shaver and the 'driving motor.

Fig. 5 is a view of the eccentric bearing for supporting the end of theshaving blade.

Fig. 6 -shows an attachment for the cutting head so, that the hair willnot enter the blade when it is desired to use only the suction device.

In Fig. 1 a housing 2 is of peculiar contour in that it is made up of ahandle portion 3 which will be grasped by the user. The handle portion 3extends at an angle with respect to the operating end thereof, so thatthe cutting head 5 may have vthe surface I thereof applied to thesurface to be shaved without inconvenience.

This entire housing 2 may be streamlined and arranged as shown in thebottom plan view in Fig. 2.

Inside of the handle portion 3 is a motor' 'l which may be operated bythe electrical con nection 8. A shaft I0 is driven by the motor andcarries a suction fan I I,Which is rotated inside of the casing i2. Thisfan is arranged to exhaust air from the conduit I3 and to discharge itin through the tube I6 into the screen or receptacle Another object ofthe invention is to provide a A Another object of the invention istoprovide av .clutch mechanism for release of the shaving blade while thedriving motor continues to operate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a removable housing formechanical Shavers so 4that the shaving blade may be readily removed andadjusted.

Another object of the invention isto provide a spiral worm shaving bladewherein the cutting faces are inclined with respect to the axis.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent whenthe following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, whereiny l Fig. 1 is a side elevation with the housingshown in section to illustrate" the general arrangement and combinationof the parts.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of Fig. i.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line @-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a broken detail view of the clutch con- This receptacle I5 hasa releasableaconnection Il with the tube I4 so that it maybe readilyremoved for cleaning. ThisI screen I5 is arranged 4to receive dirt,dust, and cuttings which are drawn through the conduit I3 by the suctionof the fan II. A knurled head I8 on the container I5 may facilitate itsremoval.

Beyond the fan II a speed changing unit 2li may be positioned to beoperated by the shaft It. In some instances this unit may containgearing for increasing the rate of rotation of the output shaft 2| fromthe unit and in other instances it may be so designed that it willreduce the speed of the output shaft 2|. This would depend upon the sizeand speed of the motor 1 and the rate of rotation which is desired atthe shaver. vIt will be noted that this unit l also changes the axis ofrotation of the output shaft 2i so that the handle is inclinedbackwardly at an angle with respect to the axis of the shaver assembly,which is indicated generally at 25.

The housing d carries the bearings 25 and 2l in lthe clutch 28 is beingmanipulated to which iits in the groove 34 in' the head 28. This handleextends from the housing, as seen in Fig. 2, and when it is pressed tothe left it will serve to i retract the head 28 because of the fact thatthis handle is pivoted at 35 in the housing.

The head 26 is provided with a friction face 39 which is arranged tocooperate with a corresponding friction face 40 on the cap 4|. This cap4| is pinned or otherwise afiixed on a short shaft 45 slidable therein.A spring 46 tends to urge the shaft 45 to the left but the spring pins46 engage a depressed area in the shaft 45 and hold Such shaft againstcomplete removal and at the same timefcause the shaft 45 to rotate withthe sleeve 42.

'Ihe shaft 45 carries the cutting blade 50 which is in the nature of aVhelix in which the worm portions 5I of the blade are inclined andprovided with a at peripheral face 52 which is arranged to travel on theinside face 53 of the cutting head 6.. This construction is best seen inFig. 3. The outer end of the cutter blade 50 is arranged to rotate upona bearing 55 which is formed on an eccentric screw or support 56. Thisscrew is rotatably mounted in the cutting head 6 so that rotation of itwill tend to move the blade 50 toward and away from the inside periphery52 of the head. Thus in event of wear the adjustment of this screw 56will always make it possible to adjust the position of the blade toperform the proper cutting action.

The head 6 is peculiarly formed, as seen in Fig. 3, as a separate-portion which will be amxed on the housing 2 by a set screw 60.' Thishead has an upper raised portion which fits over the elongated part 6iof the conduit I3 so that an opening 62 is provided directly behind thecutter blade 50. Thus the suction from the fan Il will be applieddirectly to the blade portion 5I and create a suction by these blades towithdraw any material picked up by the blade.

The contact face 65 of the head 6 is arranged with a plurality ofopenings or slots 66 into which the hair will pass in order to come incontact with the rotating blade 50. As seen in Fig. 3, this cuttingsurface 65 may have a projecting lip 61 to assist inguiding the hairinto the blade. The thinner surface 68 will determine the depth of thecut which will be made with` respect to the hair. In event it is desiredto close ofi the front face 69 of the slot 66 a cover plate 10 may beailixed thereon as seen in Fig. 6. In this manner the suction will beapplied only to the lower portion 'H of the slots so that the amount ofsuction will in this manner be increased. This attachment may be usedwhen it is desired to use the device merely to clean the surface andwhen hold the cutter blade 50 inoperative.

In operation it seems obvious that with the suction being appliedthrough the slots 66 that particles 'of foreign matter will be drawninto the device so as not to interfere with the shaving action and atthe same ltime this suction'will raise the hair so that it will be drawninto the slots 66to facilitate the shaving action. The cutter blade maybe rotated at any desired speed depending upon the type of speedchanging unit 20 which is utilized. When wear occurs on the blade thescrew 56 may be adjusted to compensate therefor and when it is desiredto remove the blade it is only necessary to release the screw 60, removethe head 6, and then the cutter blade 50 can be readily withdrawn.

Broadly the invention contemplates a combination suction shaver whereinboth the suction and shaver may be utilized or where the shavingoperation `can be suspended so that continued suction produces cleaningaction upon the surface over which the shaver is passed.

What is claimed is:

l. A vacuum shaver comprising a housing, a. motor therein, a suctionfan, a shaver device, means connecting said fan and device to said motorso that a suction is applied to the surface while the shaver operates,and clutch means to release said shaver while said fan continues tooperate so that the suction produced by the fan effects cleaning actionupon the surface over which the shaver is passed.

2. An electrical shaver comprising a housing, a motor therein, a shaverattachment, a suction device, means to drive both said shaver andsuction device from said motor, said means including a release therefromfor the shaver to permit said device to be separately, operated so thatthe surface to be shaved can rst be conditioned by passage of the shaverover the surface before using the shaving mechanism.

3. A vacuum shaver comprising a housing, a motor therein, a suction fan,a shaver device including a, cutter head, a rototable blade in saidcutter head, said head having slots therein leading to said blade, meansconnecting said fan and blade to said motor including a release for theblade so as to operate said fan independently, and a removable shieldadapted to cover a portion of said slots so that the surface to beshaved.

can first be conditioned by application of suction through the openportion of the slots before using the shaver device.

4. A vacuum shaver comprising a housing, a. motor therein, asuction fan,a shaver device. means connecting said 'fan and device to said motor sothat a suction is applied to the surface while the shaver operates, anda cover member to be applied to said shaver device to cover a por tionof the opening thereto while the suction is maintained. whereby thesuction applied to the surface is increased.

JOHN I. HILL.

